


The World Stops

by SailorLestrade



Category: Real Person Fiction, Supernatural RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Explicit Language, F/M, Hurt, It just kinda came to me, September 11 Attacks, Shock
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-18
Updated: 2017-08-27
Packaged: 2018-11-15 16:32:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 15,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11234877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SailorLestrade/pseuds/SailorLestrade
Summary: (Y/n) was running late to work after taking Jared to the airport the night before.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So in this AU, Jared and Jensen are the same age they are now and are still big actors. It's just set in 2001.

Jared had left for L.A. late the night before. (Y/n) had gone in the cab with him to say goodbye to him. Their best friend and neighbor had left a few nights prior. Him and Jared had some important business to attend to. Jared left from LaGuardia for L.A. and she had went home to Tribeca to sleep. But during the night there was a power surge in their building. Damn old wiring for the building. So instead of waking up at 7 am to get ready to go to work for her 8 am shift, she woke up at 8:20.

“Good morning New York!” The announcer on the radio said as (Y/n) turned in bed. “It’s almost 8:30 on this beautiful September morning! We’ve got blue skies all across Manhatten. Let’s start this block of music with some Staind.” The D.J. faded into “It’s Been Awhile.” (Y/n) jumped out of bed.

“Shit!” She called out as she quickly ran to the bathroom to pull her hair up and brush her teeth. She dialed her work as she found the perfect outfit for the day.

“Hey Angie, it’s (Y/).” She said as she grabbed a cute, yet appropriate dress out of her closest. “We had a power surge last night. Reset my alarm. I’ll be there in like twenty minutes or so.” She could practically hear her boss smiling on the other end.

“Relax (Y/n).” She said. “You’re one of my best employees and you’re my friend. All the important meetings aren’t until after lunch anyway.”

“Okay. Well I think I could make better time walking. I’ll see you when I get there.” She hung up and got her things together, making sure she had the mp3 player Jared had gotten her while filming in Japan earlier in the year. It held more songs and she had already bought so many from iTunes and Napster and record stores lining Soho were her guilty pleasure. Jared saw the music clutter and figured she needed an easier way to listen to it since she didn’t have a car.

She walked out of their place, locking it up and heading on her way when she saw one of her neighbors walking from the elevator. She smiled at him.

“Morning (Y/n).” He said with a smile. “How are you this morning?”

“I’m really fucking late.” (Y/n) said, covering her mouth and blushing deeply. “I’m so sorry Mr. Gandolfini.”

“One, I’ve told you to call me James. We’ve lived in the same building for four years now. And two, have you ever seen my fucking show?” He asked with a laugh. “Would you like to use my car? I can have my driver drop you off.”

“No, I’ll be fine to walk.” (Y/n) insisted.

“You work in the south tower right?” He asked, making (Y/n) nod. “Good. I’ll know where to send flowers to.” He chuckled. He was a sweet man, that was for sure.

“I’ll see you later James!” (Y/n) said with a wave. She headed down the elevator and through the lobby of her building, putting her headphones on.

Normally, her walk only took about 9 minutes to get to the financial district, but foot traffic was just as bad as car traffic today. Lot of people taking advantage of the nice September day before winter hit with a vengeance. So after about a ten minute walk, she noticed the time. She groaned as she got stopped at a red light, again. 8:45 am. She could see the towers. She was almost there. A U2 song that was a favorite of Jared’s came on. She smiled and turned it up, listening to Bono sing.

The light turned green as she waved to a firefighter she knew. She saw him a lot when she went to the coffee shop in the mornings or the deli on the way home. He was about to come over and say hi to her when a shadow fall across them. (Y/n) looked up as a plane flew overhead. The roar was loud, but she could still hear her music as Bono sang “it’s a beautiful day”.

Right as the plane headed towards the Twin Towers.

Right as the plane hit the North tower.

“Oh my god!” (Y/n) screamed, hands immediately covering her mouth and nose in shock. People stood by her, watching in horror as black smoke started to swirl out of the building.

Like everyone else on the block, (Y/n) reached to get her cell phone. To call Jared, to call Jensen’s current girlfriend, to call anybody. But every number she called gave her the same number. 

All circuits are busy, please try again.

“Fuck.” (Y/n) grumbled. She wanted to call Angie, tell her to get everyone out of the office. She could see people running out of both towers as she headed towards it. She saw some people she knew, but many she didn’t. There were a bunch of school children that looked terrified.

“I want my mommy.” A little boy cried. He looked around and couldn’t find his class anywhere. He stood in the middle of people. He was going to get trampled at this rate. (Y/n) ran over and knelt in front of him.

“Hi, my name is (Y/n). What’s yours?” She asked.

“C-Clark.” He said, trying to catch his breath.

“Well Clark, I’m going to help you find your mommy okay. Was she with you?” He shook his head. “Was she in the tower at work?” He nodded. “Okay Clark, give me your hand. We’ll go find her, okay?”

“O-okay.” He whimpered. He clung to (Y/n)’s hand. But that’s when there was another sound of an engine. She looked up in time as a second plane hit the south tower.

Her tower.

“No!” She screamed in terror. “Oh god no!” Debris started falling from the newly damaged building, so she picked up Clark and ran to where other people were gathering. He clung to her and cried.

“What is happening?!” An older woman asked her. (Y/n) shook her head, her eyes wide. They looked up at the thick black smoke that reached toward the blue sky. It had been such a beautiful day. U2 had even said so.

Everything else for the next half hour seemed like a blur. NYPD started pushing them back, away from the center. Clark was shaking in her arms as she carried him away. She saw a group of kids standing by some adults. But that wasn’t his class. So she kept him safe with her.

She stood holding Clark for almost an hour. She had no idea what she was supposed to do. She couldn’t take him anyplace in case his mom was out there looking for him, but she couldn’t let him stay there and watch this horror. He was just a kid and he was already going to be traumatized enough. He was in the north tower when it was hit.

“Clark? Clark where are you?” (Y/n) heard a woman call out. Clark’s head popped up from where it was buried on (Y/n)’s shoulder. “Clark King! Where are you?!”

“Mommy!” Clark said. (Y/n) set him down as a woman ran over. She wrapped her arms around her son.

“Thank you! Thank you so much.” She told (Y/n). “Who are you?”

“(Y/n) Padalecki.” (Y/n) explained.

“Nancy King.” The woman said. “And you’ve met Clark.” She kept her son in her arms, kissing the top of his head. That’s when there was a loud noise and people screaming. “Oh god please not another one.” Nancy begged. (Y/n) turned her attention to the towers.

There was a large cloud of dust racing from the sky to the ground as the tower collapsed.

“Shit!” (Y/n) called out. She grabbed Nancy’s arm and took off running down the street as the dust cloud came at them. (Y/n) looked around and saw the door to the deli she ate at a lot open. They were pulling people inside. She pushed Nancy and Clark that was as the heels she was wearing caught on a grate, causing her to fall and a horrible pain in her ankle.

“(Y/n)!” Nancy screamed. She pushed Clark inside the Deli and ran to (Y/n) to help her up. Nancy had a scarf she raised to her mouth to cover her face from the dust as it hit them. (Y/n) buried her face in her hands. They dove into the deli, Clark was crying.

“Are you okay?” The twenty something that always had (Y/n)’s sandwiches ready for her asked. But (Y/n) couldn’t hear anything over the ringing in her ears. She looked down at herself, covered in a thick layer of dirt and dust. Her ankle was hurting her so bad, but the adrenalin in her veins was causing it to just be a dull ache.

****

The North Tower collapsed not long after the South Tower. Nancy had worked on 30 in the North Tower, and all of her office had gotten out. They had walked out together. (Y/n) had no idea if any of her office had gotten out. Clark had been in the North Tower with plans to see his mom while he was on his field trip. He was currently sitting at a table with a couple other kids, coloring on the back of placemats while the adults all turned their attention to the TV in the corner.

(Y/n) coughed some as she fished her phone out of her purse. There was no signal at all. Sprint was supposed to offer coverage everywhere, that’s why Jared had wanted their phones to be with them. She snapped the phone closed and dropped it into her purse. Nancy walked over by her and set down.

“You saved my life.” She said softly. “You said you worked at south right?” (Y/n) nodded.

“I was running late.” (Y/n) whispered. “My husband had left to L.A. the night before and we lost power in our building, resulting in my alarm resetting itself.” Nancy nodded.

“Thank god for small miracles then.” Nancy said. The dust and debris seemed to have died down outside. “Here’s my number. We need to keep in touch. I owe you so much.”

“You don’t owe me anything.” (Y/n) said, slowly standing up, afraid to put weight on her ankle.

“Do you need help getting home?” She asked. (Y/n) shook her head.

“I’ll be fine.” (Y/n) slipped the napkin in her purse before writing her own and handing it to Nancy. “You and Clark be careful okay? It’s a messed up world.”

“You be careful too.” Nancy said. (Y/n) slowly limped out of the deli and down the street to Tribeca. Buildings were damaged from debris, there was a thin layer of dust everywhere. The day, which had started out so beautifully, was now grey.

(Y/n) slowly got into the building. The doorman that normally was there was off watching the TV in the lobby. Not that she blamed him. She carefully hobbled to the elevator and took it to their floor. Neighbors were gathered together in apartments, doors open as they watched the events on TV. (Y/n) walked past one where Jensen’s current girlfriend Danneel, the Gandolfini’s, and a couple other people were gathered.

“(Y/n)!” Danneel gasped as she saw her walk by. But (Y/n) seemed to be in a trance as she made her way into her and Jared’s apartment. She laid her dusty purse on the door side table. She slipped off her heels, her ankle thankful yet angry. She slowly slid out of her clothes as she walked towards the bathroom, leaving them in a trail across the living room. She made her way into the bathroom quietly and turned on the water for the shower. It warmed up and (Y/n) climbed in, realizing that her ankle wasn’t going to let her stand. So she set down in the bathtub, watching as the dust and dirt washed off of her and swirled around the drain. Small cuts and scrapes were visible as the dirt washed away and the nasty bruising on her ankle could be seen. She pulled her knees to her chest as everything started to catch up to her. Tears fell down her face.

“(Y/n)…” Danneel said softly from the doorway of the bathroom. “Oh god.” She walked forward and took in all the injuries on (Y/n)’s body. They weren’t bad, but she had gotten hit by more debris than she had thought. “I’ll be back. Can you get out of the tub?” (Y/n) nodded. She finished washing off and climbed out of the tub slowly. She pulled on one of Jared’s shirts that fit her like a dress and moved towards the living room as Danneel came back with a woman from the floor above them who used to be a nurse.

“Sweetie, you should’ve probably gone to a hospital.” The nurse said, but (Y/n) shook her head. There were more people that needed the hospital more than she did. Danneel and the nurse looked at each other, noticing her silence.

“(Y/n), we’re making frozen pizzas. We all need to eat. I’m going to bring some to you, okay?” Danneel said. She just nodded. While Danneel was gone, (Y/n) retreated to the bedroom, curling up in the middle of the bed. Her thoughts were running wild but suddenly came to a halt as she thought of something.

Jared.

Jared had been flying.

Jared might now be dead in the rubble of the Twin Towers or the Pentagon or that field in Pennsylvania.

Danneel came back to find (Y/n) crying ugly tears and begging to whoever was listening to let Jared be okay.


	2. Chapter 2

Los Angeles, California  
September 11, 2001

Jared had arrived at LAX at about 1 am west coast time. Jensen was already there waiting on him, having already been in the city of Lost Angels for a full day ahead of him. Jared was used to these flights, having done them quite a bit when he first started acting. He just had hoped that moving to New York would help eliminate some of this. But he was doing what he loved and if this worked out, he could convince (Y/n) to leave the cold of New York winters behind.

“Hey Jen.” Jared yawned as he walked into the terminal. He had slept some on the flight, but his back hurt and he was ready for a real bed. And Jensen had a house in L.A. that he brought girlfriends to. Him and Danneel had already been there a few times since dating, which was more than any of the others got.

“Dude, you look dead.” Jensen said, taking Jared’s bag for him.

“What can I say? I don’t really like planes.” Jared explained with a shrug. “Why do you think I always drove back and forth from Texas to California when I was twenty?”

“Because you enjoy the view of sand and you had Sadie?” Jensen asked. Jared just smiled at his friend.

“Come on man, I’m tired. Let’s get to your place.”

“Don’t wanna go to Jack in the Box or In and Out Burger?” Jensen asked.

“I’m good. We’ll go tomorrow for lunch.” Jared said. Normally, he wouldn’t turn down food, especially from these places that they didn’t have in New York, but he was tired. And something kept telling him he needed to get as much sleep as he could. So Jensen led him out to the car that his personal assistant had arranged for him during his stay in L.A. and led him to the house. The radio was playing softly.

It's a beautiful day  
Sky falls, you feel like  
It's a beautiful day  
Don't let it get away

****

“Jared.” Jensen said from somewhere off to the right of him. “Jay man, wake up.”

“No.” Jared grumbled, turning over and burying his head in his pillow. He felt like he hadn’t been asleep very long and he swore he had set an alarm for the time he needed to be up. And he was right on both things. It was 5:55 a.m. Jared’s alarm was set. And Jensen was in a panic.

“Jay, come on please wake up.” Jensen said, his voice wavering. Jared groaned and rubbed his eyes.

“What is it?” Jared asked. Jensen grabbed his hand and pulled him out of bed, both silently thankful for the fact Jared was not naked.

“Danneel called me. The girl doesn’t quite get time zones but it was nice to hear her voice. We were talking and suddenly her call cut out. I tried calling back but it said all circuits were busy. I thought that was weird but I was awake so I came down, turned on the TV to watch the L.A. news and makes some coffee. Well…” He led Jared to the living room where the TV was on. Jensen set Jared down on the couch. He looked up at the TV.

“What the fuck?” Jared asked, his eyes widening as he saw what was happening before him. Smoke pouring out of the North Tower. Jared reached over onto the end table and grabbed the cordless phone, dialing (Y/n)’s cell phone number and getting the same message Jensen had when he had tried to call Danneel back. He hung up and tried the home phone, but got the same thing.

“They think it was a plane.” Jensen said. “I just…what the hell is going on?”

“Thank god it wasn’t the south tower.” Jared said. “It had to have been an accident right? Maybe a pilot in training?” Jensen was about to say something when he heard the news anchors on the screen saying something.

“Oh my god! Oh my god!” The woman repeated. Jensen and Jared turned their attention back to the screen as a fireball exploded out of the middle of the other tower.

Jared’s world stopped then. (Y/n) worked there. She worked around the middle of the tower, but now for the life of him he couldn’t remember if it was above or below the explosion. He didn’t realize he was crying until he felt the tears hit his bare knees. He didn’t know he was screaming at the TV until Jensen put a hand on his shoulder.

“Jay! Jared! Look at me!” Jensen said. “Maybe she wasn’t in there. Maybe they got out when the first tower was hit or maybe she was late to work or something.” Jared shook his head.

“You know damn well she’s never been late to work.” Jared said, his voice shaking. He took the phone again and kept trying to call (Y/n), but nothing was getting through. He wanted to throw the phone, scream at the TV, punch President Bush. He wanted to do so much but instead, he set there, unable to do anything. He couldn’t even call (Y/n) to find out if she was alive.

“Jared…” Jensen said. “It’ll be okay.” He stood up to make coffee. He had to do something, anything right now. And he wasn’t exactly a Starbucks barista, but he just could stand there and watch this right now. (Y/n) was very dear to his heart. She had been friends with his sister in college. Mackenzie had hoped to set her up with Jensen, but she become more of a best friend. And when he introduced her to Jared, he knew it was a match made in heaven.

If anything happened to her, Jensen was afraid he would lose both of them.

Jensen brought two cups of coffee into the living room. He knew exactly how Jared liked it; less coffee, more sugar. While he had been making the coffee, he had been on the phone with the people they were having meetings with, everyone agreeing that now was not a good time to continue with business. In the time it took Jensen to do all that, he heard Jared gasp loudly.

“What? What I miss?” He asked as he settled on the couch by him.

“Plane hit the Pentagon.” Jared explained. Jensen shook his head before taking a sip of his coffee. A few minutes later, it was announced that airspace over the United States and Canada was shut down.

“What?!” Jared screamed. “But I have to get home! I have to make sure (Y/n) is okay!”

“We’re stranded here Jared. It’ll be okay.” Jensen said. Jared shook his head.

“I’ll…I’ll fucking drive or something man! I have to get home!”

“You do realize it’s almost a full two day drive if you drive non-stop right?” Jensen asked. “And you have to drive through the desert, the mountains, and those damn flat states.”

“I don’t care!” Jared roared. He held his head in his hands. “I have to see her Jensen. She’s my wife.”

“I know Jay. And we’ll get back to New York. The phones can’t be down for NYC forever. We’ll just have to stay here until they lift the ban.” Jared didn’t say anything else to Jensen. They set there in silence, sipping their coffee and watching the news, waiting for the sun to peak through the blinds. And when it did, the boys almost dropped their coffee cups. But not because the sun had lit up the room.

But because (y/n)’s tower, the south tower, was collapsing.

“NO!” Jared screamed. He fell to his knees as he slid off the couch. He tried to stand, but he couldn’t get his legs to work with him. No sound came out of his mouth, he didn’t blink. He was shut down as he watched the building fall. Jensen was on the floor by him, holding him to him and whispering how everything was going to be okay, it had to be. But Jared didn’t hear him.

He had probably just watched his wife die.

They set there for a little while, watching as the other tower fell, listening to how a plane crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. The news didn’t cut away. Most channels on the cable box were showing this. Some offered safe havens for kids, but Jared wasn’t in the mood to watch Batman or anything like that. Jensen finally got him back up on the couch and wrapped a blanket around his shoulders. One that (Y/n) had picked out when Jensen had invited them both to come stay here. She had bought it at a little hippie boutique. 

“Jared, it’ll be okay. Once the phones back home start working, we’ll call Danneel and (Y/n). I’m sure they’re both perfectly fine. We just have to wait for the phones to come back and the airports to open back up.” Jensen watched Jared for any sign that he had heard him, but he didn’t see any. He couldn’t blame him though.

“I can’t even remember if I told her I loved her before I got on the flight.” Jared whispered softly. “I can’t remember what she was wearing.” Tears fell down his face. Jensen watched his friend before turning his attention back to the TV screen.

For the first time in his life, Jensen Ackles didn’t know what to say.


	3. Chapter 3

New York City  
September 12, 2001

(Y/n) didn’t realize she had fallen asleep. The last thing she remembered was sitting on her and Jared’s bed and thinking…

Jared.

The tears started to form in her eyes again. She could smell him all around her. She realized she was wearing one of his t-shirts. He had quite a few and she stole them all the time. He didn’t mind though. He never minded. She set up and looked around for him, but he wasn’t there. Instead, she saw the bedroom door open and Danneel walking in.

“You’re awake!” She said with a smile on her face. “I was getting worried you had brain damage. But you needed your rest.” She handed (Y/n) a glass of orange juice, which she sipped slowly. “How are you feeling?” (Y/n) just offered a shrug.

Danneel watched her friend. They had met when (Y/n) stumbled into her hair salon with a major, or in Danneel’s case major, emergency. A kid on the subway had stuck gum in her hair and it needed dealt with. (Y/n) introduced Danneel to Jensen. They had been together for almost a year and she recently moved into his place, where she was happily surprised that (Y/n) and Jared lived about two apartments down.

But this woman sitting in front of her wasn’t the (Y/n) she met in the East Village almost two years ago. This (Y/n) was so deep in shock that Danneel wasn’t sure if she would ever get out. She decided to stay over with her until they got word about Jared. And if worse came to worse, her and Jensen had an extra bedroom in their place…

Danneel set on the bed by (Y/n) and pulled her into a hug. (Y/n) hid her face in Danneel’s shoulder, not wanting to cry anymore but this hug was pulling it all out again. Danneel rubbed her back softly. There was a knock on the door then. Danneel excused herself to go answer it. Soon, her and Mrs. Oliver, the nurse who had helped (Y/n) the day before, came back in.

“Hello dearie.” She said sweetly. “I’m going to look at your ankle, okay?” (Y/n) nodded and watched as Mrs. Oliver went to work on examining her ankle. “Tylenol or Ibuprofen will help with the pain and swelling, but if it gets too bad, I would go to the hospital or at least a clinic or something. They might have to take X-Rays to make sure you didn’t break anything.” She examined (Y/n)’s head again, making sure that she didn’t have any bumps that popped up in the middle of the night. She could see the pain this girl was in, but it wasn’t physical and she wasn’t licensed to help with that kind.

“Thank you so much Mrs. Oliver.” Danneel said when she was done. She led her out of the bedroom and talked to her out of (Y/n)’s earshot, but she knew what Danneel was asking her. (Y/n) thought she had a valid excuse as to why she wasn’t crying, why she was curling in on herself. She heard the front door close and a second later, Danneel was back in her bedroom door.

“I need to do a couple things over at my place. Will you be okay by yourself for a little bit?” She asked. (Y/n) nodded. She hated being treated like a child, but she knew she was acting like one. She just couldn’t find her voice. Not with this pain in her heart. Danneel nodded and left.

Ten minutes later, (Y/n) managed to get herself up off the bed and limped to the bathroom to take something for her ankle. She headed back to her bedroom, her fortress of solitude, when she noticed the sun streaming in through the blinds. She wasn’t sure if the sun would even come up over New York today or not. She made her way to the window and slowly opened the blinds.

Everything she saw was grey from the dust. Part of her had hoped that someone would’ve cleaned all that last night, but she knew that it would stay until rain washed it away. She couldn’t even remember if there was rain in the forecast for this week. She was about ready to close the blinds and disappear back into her blankets when she spotted something on the sidewalk that stood out against the grey dust. Her eyes widened before she moved back into her room, pulling on a pair of sweatpants and a comfy pair of shoes before leaving her apartment.

****

Danneel came back a little later and walked into (Y/n)’s place. It was quiet, but it had been lately, with (Y/n) not wanting to talk. She made her way to the bedroom to check on her, but found it empty. Panic started to creep in as she searched the rest of the apartment but found nothing. She raced out and looked down the hallway, but she didn’t see her.

“She headed to the elevator.” James said. He had been visiting one of their neighbors and had saw (Y/n) leaving like a woman on a mission. “Is she doing okay?”

“God, I hope so.” Danneel said. “Do you know if she went to the street or…or the roof?” She asked quietly.

“I think she went to the street.” James said. Danneel nodded and pressed the down button.

“Thank you so much.” She offered him a smile.

“Just make sure she’s okay.” James instructed. Danneel nodded and stepped into the elevator, heading down to the lobby and out onto the dusty street. She didn’t have to look far to find (Y/n) though. She was sitting on the steps of the next building, a dog laying his head in her lap. Danneel stayed back a little ways, watching as (Y/n) talked to the dog.

“Don’t worry.” (Y/n) said softly. “I’m pretty broken too. But I’ll take care of you. You won’t ever have to worry about not having a home again.” She scratched his ears and rubbed his back. Danneel slowly walked over to (Y/n).

“What’s his name?” She asked. (Y/n) looked up at her.

“I don’t know.” She said quietly. “I think he had been homeless a little while though. His ribs are showing.” Danneel set down beside (Y/n). This was the first time she had been outside since the attack. It was a little surreal. There were papers fluttering down the street. The buildings looked so dirty and dingy. Everything looked wrong.

“How about I go down to the store and get some things for your friend. You take him inside and think of a name for him.” Danneel said. (Y/n) nodded. She led the dog into the building. She was amazed how easy he followed her in. She smiled at him. It was just a little one.

“I’ll name you Sammy.” She whispered, thinking about Jared’s character. She found some sliced ham in the fridge and placed that on a plate for him while she waited on Danneel, who made it back in record time with things for the dog and food for them.

They cleaned Sammy up with flea shampoo and blow dried him after he shook once in the bathroom. Danneel put a collar on him she had grabbed at the store, promising to take (Y/n) to a real pet store once her ankle was better. She excused herself to go home and shower. (Y/n) took the hint and cleaned up as well, putting on a new t-shirt. She poured Sammy a bowl of food and gave him some water. Danneel came back as (Y/n) watched Sammy go to town on his food. She was talking for the first time in almost twenty-four hours and Danneel was glad.

She just hoped that Jared would call soon.


	4. Chapter 4

Los Angeles  
September 12, 2001

Jared had spent most of the day before glued to the TV screen and the phone. He kept trying. He could call Texas, even though it was a little hit and miss. He could talk to his family there. He could call his agent, who had been in Florida at the time. But nothing was getting into New York. The news had even talked about that, since many cell phones were routed through tower one, the north tower, as well as many TV shows and radio stations. Too many things relied on those towers to thrive and they were gone…

Jensen had left a few times for food, because he didn’t feel like cooking and he knew that Jared wouldn’t do it. Not that he blamed him any. Every time he was alone, he kept praying to whoever was listening to him to let (Y/n) be okay. He knew how much she meant to Jared. He had seen it the moment that Jared and (Y/n) locked eyes for the first time.

That night, Jared had fallen asleep on the couch, watching the coverage about the 9/11 attacks on CNN. Jensen didn’t want to wake him to make him go to his bed. He knew he was waiting for word about anything and it had been more of a he just dropped type of sleep. So Jensen just covered him in a blanket and went to bed himself.

It was now the morning and Jensen was distracting himself making breakfast while Jared tried, but kept failing, to place calls to New York. Even though the lady one the TV kept saying that some areas of the city would remain without phone service for a while. But Jared was determined.

“Jay, they just said that calls probably won’t get through to Tribeca or most of lower Manhattan for the next few days.” Jensen said. “We just have to wait for the airports to open back up.”

“I just…I need something. Anything.” Jared said. “I need to know she got out alive. Even if she’s injured, I can handle that. But I don’t think I can handle losing her.”

“You’re not going to lose her.” Jensen said, dishing out some scrambled eggs. “Even if she was there, she would’ve been smart enough to leave.”

The anchor was talking about search and rescue processes that were going underway. Police, firefighters, Marines, and others were helping in the effort. But most of New York was still at a standstill, and the neighborhoods of Lower Manhattan were struggling.

“Come on man, you need to eat.” Jensen said, sliding the plate to him. Jared wanted to argue and tell him no he didn’t, but his stomach betrayed him. Jared groaned but took the food that was offered. Even when he was fighting the flu, Jared wasn’t really one to turn down food. Jensen had probably only seen him turn down food a handful of times in the almost two decades they had known each other.

“I can’t drive to New York, because it would take too long and I’d probably end up crashing because I would refuse to sleep.” Jared said after a few moments of silent eating. Jensen looked up at him. “The news is saying that the first few days the airports open up, that everything will be really backlogged. That even if your ticket is for a certain day, you might not get to leave that day. And our tickets are for Friday.”

“Jay, just take a breath.” Jensen said. “I understand this is hard, but we’ll get to New York. I promise I’m going to get you there one way or another. And I could try calling people outside of the city, or at least in Upper Manhattan to see if they can find anything out for us.” Jared sighed but nodded.

“I just can’t sit here and watch the news anymore.” Jared said.

“Then let’s not.” Jensen said. “Let’s go to the Beverly Center, or the Grove, or walk up and down the Walk of Fame. We could go to the places we don’t have in New York. Like the beach. Hell, we could even drive to San Diego if you want. Go to the zoo.” Jensen stood up and opened the blinds to let the warm, California sun in. It allowed him to get a good look at Jared.

When they were on break from filming, Jared always let his beard grow. (Y/n) always loved it at first, until he started looking like a stand in for ZZ Top. Jared had his beard, but the stress of the last day had made it look different than it had before. It made him look tired and rundown. Jensen would suggest Jared shaving, but he hoped that maybe the coastal air and being away from the TV would do him some good. He knew that there would be talk about it out there, but he was hoping that even just getting a burger at someplace they didn’t have back home. Hell, at this point he would even consider driving Jared all the way to El Paso to go to Whataburger, or taking him into San Antonio to see his parents. His sister lived in Austin now…

“What about just going for a walk?” Jared asked. “The Walk of Fame sounds nice. Maybe we could catch a show at Sunset, depending how to the day goes?” Jensen smiled and wrapped an arm around Jared.

“We should hit the showers and out we’ll go.” He said. “And don’t worry, we’ll have the phones just in case New York gains the ability to call today.” He smiled and headed towards the master bedroom to go take a nice shower. Jared sighed and finally pushed himself up from the table. He allowed himself one last look at the images on the TV before he grabbed the remote and turned it off.

Thankfully, the radio in the bathroom had a CD player, so he played an old AC/DC CD while he showered.

It made him think of (Y/n).

****

L.A. was busy, yet strangely quiet. The boys had grabbed smoothies and were walking around Hollywood. The place wasn’t as exciting as it had been in the past. The whole country was trying to overcome a trauma. If this was how L.A. was though, Jensen could only imagine how New York and New Jersey were. 

People were sitting at a café, watching news coverage on a TV screen across from them. Jensen waved to some of them, knowing them from past projects. They were watching coverage as two Port Authority Police Officers were pulled from the rubble. Jensen looked over at Jared, who was watching intensely. Was (Y/n) under the rubble like those two men had been? Was she safe? Did she remember how much Jared loved her?

Jared’s phone rang then and his heart skipped a few beats. But the name on the phone said “Mom”, not “(Y/n)”. He waved Jensen off, who was hoping that it was (Y/n) too. Jensen made his way over to some people he knew while Jared answered his phone.

“Hey mom.” He sighed.

“ _I’m guessing you haven’t heard from (Y/n) then._ ” She said, worry obvious in her voice. While at first, she didn’t trust (Y/n), thinking she was nothing more than some bimbo after her son’s money, (Y/n) easily wormed her way into Mrs. Padalecki’s heart. It was obvious that her son and her daughter-in-law loved each other more than anything.

“No…” Jared whimpered. “My calls aren’t going through. We have friends in New York I’ve tried calling and nothing is going through.”

“ _She’s fine. I just know it._ ” His mom assured him. “ _I can feel it in my heart. And I know deep down, you can feel it in yours._ ”

“I just…I watched her tower get hit mom. And I can’t even remember if I told her I loved her before I left for L.A.” Jared was on the verge of tears. He turned away so Jensen couldn’t see. He didn’t want to make his day worse. He was trying so hard.

“ _She knows you love her honey._ ” Jared just nodded. “ _I have to go now. I’m on my lunch break. Just keep me updated, okay?_ ”

“I will mom. I love you.”

“ _I love you too honey._ ” With that, they hung up. Jared wiped at his eyes, not wanting to let Jensen know he had been crying. But Jensen knew. That was one thing about being around Jared for almost twenty years. He could read him like a book without even having to look at his face. Jensen walked over and placed a hand on Jared’s shoulder.

“Do you want to go back to the house?” HE asked. Jared wanted to say no, that he was fine and the sun was doing him good, but he just could. Instead, he just nodded and Jensen offered a comforting smile before leading him back to the house.


	5. Chapter 5

New York City  
September 13, 2001

(Y/n) had convinced Danneel to go sleep at her place for the night. Danneel had argued but left until (Y/n) and Sammy were asleep before sneaking back in and crashing on the couch. With everything (Y/n) was going through right now, she didn’t want her to be alone. Even though she had Sammy, and he had instantly taken a bond with her, she didn’t want to lose (Y/n), especially if Jared was gone too.

(Y/n) slept late into the morning. Danneel kept herself busy by cleaning and cooking. There weren’t a lot of groceries in the apartment. She had kept trying to make calls, but nothing was getting through from her cell phone or her home phone. She was amazed they even still had cable. Sammy came out a little while later with a sleepy (y/n) behind him in sweatpants and Jared’s shirt. She went for his leash.

“Hey.” Danneel said. “How’s your ankle?” (Y/n) was still limping pretty badly. Danneel was sure that she had a fracture of some sort.

“It’s fine.” (Y/n) said.

“Bullshit.” Danneel said. “Let me take him out for you.”

“You did it all day yesterday. It’s fine.” (Y/n) said. She hooked Sammy’s leash up. Danneel sighed and watched as (Y/n) hobbled out with Sammy. She led him to the ground level into a patch of grass. She had a plastic bag with her, just in case.

“When I’m feeling better, I’ll walk you to a real park.” (Y/n) assured Sammy. She walked with him for a little bit, trying to ignore the pain in her foot and ankle. Trying to ignore the empty space in the sky where her job had been. Trying to ignore life in general. Sammy seemed to sense her inner turmoil. He had taken to the role of being her therapy dog quite easy. So he pulled on her leash to bring her back home.

“Do you want to go home?” (Y/n) asked, scratching his ears. He licked her hand and pulled on his leash again. What she thought had been five minutes had actually been about twenty. And they had walked almost to SoHo instead of staying in front of their building. By the time they got back, (Y/n)’s ankle was throbbing and she just wanted to sit down.

“Oh, here she is.” She heard Danneel tell someone as she walked into the apartment. She let Sammy off his leash and he ran to get some water. (Y/n) looked to see who Danneel was talking to and gasped.

“Angie?” (Y/n) asked. Her boss ran over and hugged her tightly. (Y/n) looked up at Danneel in shock, and her friend could tell then that (Y/n) didn’t know if any of her coworkers had gotten out of the building.

“I had to see if you were alive.” Angie said, pulling back after a little while. Sammy set at the kitchen doorway, watching the interaction, waiting to see if he needed to intervene.

“Would you like some tea?” Danneel asked as she watched (Y/n) struggle with social skills. “Or some water?”

“Water would be nice please.” Angie said. Danneel excused herself to the kitchen as (Y/n) took in Angie’s appearance. Her left arm was in a cast, she had a few bruises on her arms, and a few cuts. “Lucky you. The one time you’re late to work and you miss all the fireworks.” She tried to smile at (Y/n), but it failed.

“H-how many?” (Y/n) asked quietly.

“Six including you and me.” Angie explained. (Y/n) closed her eyes. “When the first tower was hit, there was an announcement in the whole building that we were fine. Well, I went down to see Bruce on his floor, to talk about what was going on and what we were going to have for dinner that night. Gladius, Ricky, Harmony, and Allie all went down to the café together.” Angie’s voice wavered some. “The plane hit two floors above us, but the fire that spread in that whole section killed everyone that stayed on our floor…”

“Oh god.” (Y/n) whispered.

“Bruce and I left his floor and headed out not long after the hit. We found the others that were at the café. We stood outside with everyone else. But we weren’t fast enough to escape the dust and the people. I tripped and fell. Someone stepped on my arm and broke it. Bruce got pushed into a building and got a concussion. Gladius fell and broke her hip. Everyone in our group got some injuries.” She looked (Y/n) up and down. “And I see that you didn’t get away unscathed.” (Y/n) nodded and told her story, including meeting Clark and Nancy.

“You know that’s my sister-in-law right?” Angie asked. “Nancy King is Bruce’s sister. Her husband is a Staten Island firefighter. They live over there. She takes the ferry and a cab to work everyday…”

“Here’s your water.” Danneel said, cutting in at the right moment. Angie accepted it and the three set in silence. Sammy came over a second later and rested his head on (Y/n)’s lap.

“You didn’t tell me you got a dog.” Angie said. (Y/n) shrugged.

“He sorta found me yesterday.” (Y/n) explained. “We needed each other.” Angie nodded and looked around.

“Where’s Jared?” Angie asked. Danneel watched then as the floodgates opened. As fast as she could hobble, (Y/n) excused herself from the living room back to the safety of her bedroom, wrapped in her blankets. “Did I say something wrong?”

“(Y/n) hasn’t been in contact with Jared since the attack.” Danneel explained. “Our phones aren’t working here in Lower Manhattan. She doesn’t know if he’s alive or not.”

“Oh…” Angie said, a little in shock. “I would just die if I didn’t know if Bruce was okay or not. I can only imagine what she’s going through…”

“We just have to have hope.” Danneel said. “I was talking to my boyfriend on the phone when the attack happened. I know he wasn’t on one of those planes, but (Y/n) doesn’t know.” Angie nodded.

“Well, I live in Upper Manhattan. Maybe I can get a phone call through to Jared or something.” Angie offered. Danneel smiled.

“I think that would help her a lot right now.” Danneel said. She looked at the closed bedroom door. “She hasn’t been the same. But I guess none of us will be.” Angie nodded. The two made small talk for a little bit before Angie left. Danneel quietly knocked on the door.

“(Y/n)?” Danneel asked. Sammy gave a small yap. Danneel pushed the door open and found the dog resting by his owner, offering her support. She was crying softly, on the verge of falling asleep again. Danneel set on the bed by her and played with her hair for a bit. She didn’t say anything, but she didn’t have to. Not that she would’ve known what to say anyway. The only thing she knew was her friend was never going to be the same.


	6. Chapter 6

Los Angeles  
September 13, 2001

Jared and Jensen stood in the long line of people trying to get of LAX. The airport had been closed following the attacks due to the government shutting it down, but it was open now. They were originally supposed to fly back to New York on Friday, with filming starting on Monday. Jared wasn’t sure if the filming was still going to happen, but he was getting back to New York one way or another.

“Good thing we already have a few episodes filmed.” Jensen commented as they waited. “We’re probably going to grow old in this line.” Jared glanced around the airport as Jensen talked. There was a lot more armed security than he had seen in the past. It was a little unnerving to Jared, but he had to keep a straight face on. He had to be brave.

While they had waited, Jared continued to try to call (Y/n), but it was the same results as the past few days. He had heard that a lot of neighborhoods in Lower Manhattan were suffering from the attack, due to the thick layers of dust and lots of the buildings being severely damaged. Jared knew Tribeca hadn’t avoided damage. He just hoped that they were close enough to SoHo that he would have a home to return to.

“Jay, just save your battery.” Jensen said, touching his arm. “Once we fly to New York, we’ll try calling again.” Jared just nodded, knowing that Jensen was right.

It felt like years that they waited in line, but it was about an hour. They finally made their way to the ticket counter, setting their bags on the ground by them. The poor woman working the counter looked so tired and scared, but she plastered on a smile.

“How can I help you?” She asked.

“We need to two tickets to LaGuardia.” Jensen said when Jared made no move to. The woman’s smile fell some.

“I’m sorry, but we’re supposed to be directing everyone to another airport.” She said sadly. “LaGuardia wasn’t far from the…”

“But it’s the one closest to my house!” Jared said, getting looks from people. Tears were forming in his eyes. Jensen put a hand on his shoulder to calm him down.

“I’m sorry sir. I can redirect you to Newark probably. But I’m not sure if the tunnel will be open.” She said softly. Large tears fell down Jared’s face. He was so close to getting home. He could smell that pizza place on the corner, he could hear the car horns, he could feel the electricity in the air as the Giants and the Jets squared off for a preseason game. “Sir?”

“His wife…she worked there.” Jensen explained. “And he has no idea if she’s alive or not because we can’t make calls to the city. Please, just find us a flight to New York.” The woman’s eyes were full of unshed tears as she heard Jensen’s story. She nodded and typed something in on her computer.

“We have a couple seats on a flight to JFK.” She explained. “It doesn’t leave until tonight, about eight. You’ll get to New York tomorrow.”

“We’ll take it.” Jensen said, sliding her his credit card to have her book the flights. After she ran everything and printed their tickets, the two actors made their way over to the lounge area. It was busting at the seams. People who had been stranded there since the attack were ready to go home. But so were Jensen and Jared.

“You hungry?” Jensen asked as they found an area to rest. “We could go eat at a restaurant, get some drinks at the bar, or head over to the store and get some junk.”

“I’m fine.” Jared lied. While he didn’t feel hungry, his body was begging him for food.

“Jay, come on. You have metabolism of an Olympic swimmer. You need to eat something.” Jensen urged. He was trying to keep his friend sane and take care of him. Jared needed him right now and Jensen was trying his best.

“I…a sub wouldn’t be too bad.” Jared said, seeing the look on Jensen’s face. His friend lit up right away and ran off to find a sub shop in the airport. As Jared set there, waiting for Jensen to come back, he pulled out his wallet and flipped through the pictures in it. There were a couple of his mom, dad, and siblings. There were a couple of him and his dog from his late teens, travelling back and forth for work. Him and Jensen when they were still fresh faced kids going out for teen dramas and to be the newest heartthrob. And then there were the pictures of him and (Y/n). Little candids taken at family parties, Christmas when she fell asleep against him on the couch because she wasn’t used to being up that early with such young kids running around. Their wedding day when she was, and would always be, the most beautiful woman in the world.

“Jay?” Jensen asked quietly as he sat down with two subs and some other things. Jared wiped his eyes and looked up at Jensen. “It’s going to be okay Jared. I promise.”

“Yeah.” Jared whispered softly. He put his wallet away and started in on his food. They ate in silence, listening to conversations around them. Impatient business people trying to get to their destination, sad kids wanting to go home, broken hearted lovers with their honeymoon ruined.

“Hey Jen?” Jared said after a bit. Jensen looked up at him as he ate his potato chips.

“Yeah?”

“What…what if I get to New York and…”

“No, no, no.” Jensen said, shaking his head.

“You don’t know what I was going to say.” Jared said. Jensen shook his head.

“Jared, we’ve been friends for almost twenty years. I know you almost as well as you know yourself. And I know exactly what you were going to say.” Jensen told him. “We’re going to get back to New York and you’re going to see (Y/n) again. And you’re going to be happy. Do you hear me?”

“Yeah…” Jared said. “I guess you’re right.”

“Of course I’m right. I’m always right.” Jensen said with a laugh. They went back to eating, but their peace didn’t last long. Jared’s phone started to ring. He quickly grabbed it and looked at the caller ID. After a moment, his eyes widened. “What is it?”

“It’s a New York phone number.”


	7. Chapter 7

New York City  
September 14, 2001

(Y/n) hadn’t charged her phone since the attack. She couldn’t make any calls anyway, so what was the point. In the past three days, she had been to hell and back, so an uncharged cell phone was the least of her worries. All she wanted was her husband to come walking through their door and tell her everything was going to be all right. But he wasn’t. (Y/n) just knew it.

Danneel had been visiting the Gandolfini’s. They were worried about (Y/n). A lot of people in the building were. She usually lit up the whole place with her smile. She was nice to everyone. And watching her curl in on herself was scaring all of them. Even people from outside their building were worried about her.

DeNiro lived in the building across from them. (Y/n) would pet sit for him on several occasions. She never stole anything from him and his wife loved her. A week ago, (Y/n) would’ve been working with a few others from the neighborhood to plan his birthday party for tomorrow, since he was out in LA in August and had been busy planning his big film festival the early part of the month. But a silent agreement had cancelled those plans. He didn’t know she had worked in the towers, and he didn’t know that her husband had been flying to LA and she hadn’t been in contact with him. But when he found out, he arranged for flowers, food, and other things to be sent to her.

“(Y/n)?” Danneel called out, walking into her place. She had food from the place down the street that Robert had arranged to be delivered. She got no response, but looking out the window, she could see Sammy and (Y/n) sitting on the fire escape, looking out over the destroyed city. Danneel left the food on the counter and slid out onto the fire escape with them.

“Hey, you need to rest.” Danneel said. (Y/n) just stared forward.

“They put fences up.” (Y/n) explained. “So even if I wanted to go back over there, I couldn’t look in.”

“Why would you want to go back?” Danneel asked. (Y/n) wiped at her eyes.

“Only six of us survived. There were about fifty-seven who worked in my office. They pulled port authority out of there. They pulled a few office workers. But none of them were from mine…” Her voice shook some. “Jared might be there.”

“He’s not.” Danneel said. “I just know he’s not.”

“You got to talk to Jensen before it happened.” (Y/n) said. “And I can’t even remember if Jared took the direct flight or if he got a layover in Boston. He flew there so much that I just forget some of the details.” Sammy rested his head on her lap to help her calm down.

“Let’s get you back inside.” Danneel said. She helped her stand and they made their way into the living room. (Y/n)’s ankle was still hurting. She hadn’t properly iced it in a while, and she honestly needed to get it checked out. It had been three days. Danneel was sure that the hospital could look at her ankle and make sure it wasn’t broken. But she wasn’t going to argue with her. She sighed and headed towards the kitchen where the food was. Sammy took up watching (Y/n).

A noise from outside the door turned (Y/n) and Danneel’s attention to it. The place had been pretty quiet the past few days. Danneel sighed and made her way to the door.

“Just probably another package from across the street.” She laughed. She opened the door and gasped at what was right there. “Oh my god!”

“Danneel? What is it?” (Y/n) called out. Danneel just moved aside in shock.

“(Y/n)…” A soft voice said. Sammy’s head popped up and (Y/n) turned, tears falling down her face as she attempted to stand. Her ankle just wouldn’t agree with her.

“J-Jared!” She cried. He dropped his bags and wrapped her in his arms, holding her to his strong chest. “I thought you were dead!”

“I thought I had lost you.” Jared whispered to her, holding her close. Danneel and Jensen stood in the doorway, watching the lovers reunite. She looked over at Jensen and smiled.

“Are you okay?” She asked. He smiled at her.

“Right now I’m perfect.” He said. Sammy walked over then, sniffing him. It was his job to delegate who was friend or foe. “Who’s this?” Jared and (Y/n) turned their attention to Jensen, who was getting the once over from Sammy. (Y/n) smiled.

“That’s Sammy.” She said. “He’s been helping Danneel take care of me.” She looked up at Jared. “Can we keep him?” Jared walked over and held a hand out to Sammy. The dog sniffed him for a second before launching himself at him and licking his face all over, making Jared laugh.

“Hey Sammy.” He said. “Of course he can stay. We’ll take good care of him.” He stood up and wrapped an arm around (Y/n). Her bruises and cuts from the collapse had started to heal. The color that had disappeared from his skin that night had started to come back. Jared had been home two minutes and already (Y/n) was looking better.

“Well, we’ll let you two catch up.” Jensen said. With that, him and Danneel left. (Y/n) turned back to Jared, a smile on her face but tears down her cheeks.

“I…Jared.” She just threw herself at him. He held her close to him. “I was so scared.”

“Me too baby.” He whispered. “How? How did you survive?” He moved them so they were sitting on the couch.

“I was late for work.” (Y/n) explained. “There was a power surge when I got home from going with you to the airport. It had to have happened while I was sleeping. My alarm reset. I got to World Trade Center Plaza right as the first tower was hit. I was going to go to my tower, but there was this little boy. He was scared and crying. So instead of going to work, I stayed with him. And then my tower got hit.” She looked down at the ground. “I should’ve been in there with them.”

“But you weren’t. And I am grateful to whatever force wouldn’t let you go to work.” Jared said, kissing her forehead. “I’ve never been so scared in my life.” (Y/n) broke down in his arms, crying and holding on to him. She was sure that when she woke up in the morning, this would’ve all been a dream. But she allowed herself to fall asleep in his arms.

At least, she thought, she could have peace for a little while.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a couple more ideas I want to do with this story, so the time skips are going to be a little larger than a day after this!

New York City  
September 15, 2001

(Y/n) groaned as she started to wake up. After falling asleep the day before, she had stayed asleep the entire night. She had sworn that Jared had come home and she had fallen asleep in his arms, but he wasn’t anywhere to be seen when she woke up. She sighed and laid back against her pillow, sadness creeping in again. But then she realized that Sammy wasn’t in bed with her either. She carefully got out of bed and limped towards the living room. She noticed Danneel wasn’t asleep on the couch.

“Hey baby.” Jared said from the kitchen. “French toast is almost done.” (Y/n) just stared at her husband.

“You did come home.” She whispered. Jared offered her one of his signature smiles.

“Of course I did.” He told her as he brought breakfast over to their little table. He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close, kissing the top of her head. “I wouldn’t just leave my girl all alone.” He set her down at the table so they could eat together. Sammy laid by the table, waiting for any pieces that would be dropped.

“I kept waiting to hear if you were gone.” (Y/n) said after a little while of silence. Jared looked up at her.

“What do you mean?” Jared asked.

“I didn’t know if it was your plane.” (Y/n) sighed. “I just…”

“Shh.” Jared whispered, resting his hand over hers. “It’s okay. We’re both alive and no one is going to take that away from us.” He stood up and knelt over by (Y/n), taking her hands in his. “I was asleep. Jensen woke me up to show me. I tried calling you so many times but each time, it said the phones were busy. And then I saw…we’ll I’m sure you can figure it out. But all I could think about was how I was going to come home to just memories…”

“Jay…” (Y/n) whispered. She slid out of her chair and latched on to him. Sammy came over and rested his head in between them. Just as he did, Jensen knocked on the door. Jared looked at (Y/n). “Let him in.” She whispered.

“Just come on in Jen!” Jared called out. Jensen pushed open the door with his hip as he came in carrying bags of groceries. Danneel was right behind him with her own bags.

“Did we come at a bad time?” Jensen asked, noticing them huddled on the floor. (Y/n) shook her head and slowly stood up, Jared helping her. “That ankle really needs looked at.”

“I know.” (Y/n) said softly. Jared smiled a little and led her to the couch to sit.

“Well, Danni told me that you didn’t really eat over the past few days.” Jensen explained, grabbing things from bags. “And I know that Jared didn’t eat as much as he normally does. So we decided to make you guys a proper meal today.” He saw the half eaten breakfast on the table. “You guys need it.”

“Jensen…” (Y/n) started, but he raised his hand.

“Jared wasn’t alone in his bad thinking.” Jensen said. “He thought he had lost a wife. I thought I had lost a longtime friend. So I need to do this, okay?” He looked into her eyes. She could see that he wasn’t just trying to be nice. This was something he needed. And she wasn’t going to stop him. So, she just nodded. 

“Can we help?” Jared asked. Jensen shook his head.

“You can just take her and watch a movie and make sure she’s resting her ankle.” Jensen said. Jared nodded and led (Y/n) back to the living room. He grabbed a VHS of 10 Things I Hate about You. Jared smiled as (Y/n) watched the movie. Danneel kept stealing glances at it as they worked. She remembered going with (Y/n) to see it when it came out.

It was a couple movies and glasses of wine later before the food was served. Jensen and Danneel had made homemade cheeseburgers and French fries. Dessert and other little things had also been made during the cooking process. Light conversation filled the air as they ate. Finally, after a moment, Jensen set his food down.

“So, guys, Danni and I were talking,” Jensen began. “And, we know how hard it must be for the two of you right now. Living right here where you can look out and see Ground Zero. And I just want to throw out there that my place in L.A. is empty most of the year. So it’s yours for as long as you want.”

“Jensen, we can’t take over your house.” (Y/n) said. Jensen shook his head.

“I lived in your guy’s guest room for years.” Jensen said. “It’s the least I can do.”

“But what about filming?” (Y/n) asked. Jared smiled.

“That’s what the meeting in L.A. was going to be about.” Jared explained. “They’re wanting to film a few episodes here, and then try out filming in L.A. If it works, they want to continue it. And I knew with your job that you couldn’t go with me all the time, so I was trying to figure out a schedule that would allow us to have the most time together that we could.”

“Jay, that’s great!” (Y/n) said. She looked at Jensen. “And you really wouldn’t mind?”

“Of course not!” Jensen said. “I’d rather you two be happy there then miserable here.” He looked out the window towards where (Y/n)’s work had been. (Y/n) nodded. “And, if getting on a flight scares you, I’m sure I could arrange for a Greyhound or something.”

“Thank you Jensen. For everything.” She said, hugging her friend. “We need to get Sammy’s shots, but I’ll take you up on the offer. If it’s okay with you honey.” She looked at Jared.

“Wherever you go, I’ll follow.” He said, holding her hand. Jensen and Danneel smiled at each other.

It was the first time in days that either had seen their friend happy.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still a few more ideas and time jumps to come. Probably just a few more chapters to go!

New York City  
December 24th, 2001

Filming was on a break for Christmas. As much as the fans wanted more of their show, they were more understanding when they heard it through the grape vine and early only forums that Jared’s wife at been at the World Trade Center when it collapsed. They had spent a good amount of time in L.A., enjoying the heat and suffering through the smog. But it was time to return to New York for a bit. Their apartment had been empty for a few months and they had hired a service to check their mail for them while they were gone. Plus Sammy missed Jensen and Danneel, who had flown back over a week before them.

(Y/n) wasn’t happy about being on a plane. But some sleeping pills made it much easier to manage.

Every year since Jared and (Y/n) had lived in Tribeca, they had had a Christmas party with many of the other residents. These same residents had begged them to come to the Concert for New York City. But (Y/n) didn’t feel like she deserved a spot with the other survivors and rescue personnel that were being honored there that night. So, instead they stayed in and watched it on TV, pledging money to the victim’s fund. Even though some of the residents had gotten her autographs from the acts that night as a gift.

Loaded down with gifts from LA, Jared and (Y/n) left LaGuardia. It was a little surreal to be back in New York after being in LA. There was snow on the ground as they left the airport. People were bundled up and walking in and out of the airport as they left. (Y/n) felt bad for the ones who didn’t realize that it snowed in New York.

“9/11 was fake!” (Y/n) heard someone call out. She looked over to see a group of college aged people handing out pamphlets. They looked over towards her and Jared. “Do not believe the lies that the media is telling you! 9/11 was an inside job by the Bush administration to make us all live in fear! The planes didn’t destroy those buildings! Patriotism is a lie!”

“Babe, let’s just go.” Jared said. (Y/n) shook her head and moved away from her husband towards the ground. “(Y/n)! Wait!”

“Hello ma’am. Are you ready to accept and spread the truth?” One of the members asked. (Y/n) stared at him.

“Where were you when it happened?” She asked.

“Uh, I was at my dorm at school.” He said.

“So you weren’t at ground zero?” She asked. They all shook their heads no. “Well, let me tell you something. I was. I worked there. I lost almost my entire office. I watched a little boy cry and scream because his mom was in one of those buildings. I smelled the smoke, took in a lungful of dust. I felt the papers fluttering from the office like confetti. I felt the earth shake as those two twins fell.” Jared came up to (Y/n) then. “Everyone is entitled to their freedom of speech. They’re guaranteed that by the Constitution. But when you sit there and tell me that what I lived through wasn’t real, then you have to deal with someone like me. So I suggest you go back to your Roswell happened, there was more than one gunman conspiracies.” With that, she turned and marched away from the group. Jared followed along behind her.

“Babe?” He asked. She looked at him with tears in her eyes.

“How can they say it didn’t happen?” She asked. “I saw it happen. I know it happened. Why can’t they just go back to the moon landing was fake or something?” Jared wrapped an arm around (Y/n) and kept her close to his side.

“Come on baby. Let’s get back to the apartment.” He kissed her forehead. Sammy was pulling on his leash, ready to go.

****

They walked into their place and smiled. It was home after all. Jensen’s place had been great, but it was nice to be back in their own home. They had looked at places while they were staying in L.A., and they had found a couple places that they wanted. After Christmas, before filming started back up, they were going to have their own home.

They went through the mail that had been left. There were some gifts from friends and family they wouldn’t be able to visit, there were cards, and other things. They had gotten Christmas cards from Angie and her husband, as well as Clark and his mom and dad. (Y/n) had to smile, despite the tears in her eyes.

Soon, they gathered with the other residents of their building, as well as some others from other buildings. Sammy walked around with reindeer antlers on his head, happy to get attention and food from the guests in the banquet hall of the building. Jensen spent the night talking with DeNiro about his upcoming film festival. Jensen was going to make his directing debut at it. Jared was even helping him out by acting in it.

(Y/n) excused herself from the party and headed outside where the snow was still falling. She stood out on the sidewalk, watching a few people walk around. The year before, this place had been busy with people walking around. But now, it was still pretty empty. She looked up at the sky. Last year, she had looked up at her building to see what poor bastards had to work on Christmas Eve. There were always a handful, usually security or custodians. 

But it was all gone.

She wrapped her arms around herself and kept staring at the gap in the skyline. It was almost like a child that had lost their two front teeth. It was noticeable. There was no way that it wouldn’t be noticed. That’s why young men and women were at war now.

“Hey.” A voice said to her right. She turned to see a man standing there. “I saw you the day of the attack.”

“Axel?” She asked, staring at him. He was much skinnier than he had been before. His face looked haunted. He was missing his left arm from the elbow down. “My god…”

“It was crushed.” He said. “I’m gonna get me a prosthetic. A lot of people got worse than I did.” (Y/n) nodded. That’s why she had gone so long without getting her ankle looked at. She had fractured it and was in a walking cast for a while. “You were lucky that day.”

“Yeah. I guess I was.” She said. “Did you lose a lot of your friends?” She looked over at him and watched him nod. But she could tell he didn’t want to talk about it. It had to be painful. “What are you doing out here?”

“The same thing you probably are.” He said, his breath forming a cloud in front of his face. He looked over at her.

“Well, I’m hoping that if I stare at the sky long enough, it will be there and everyone we lost will be safe inside.” (Y/n) told him. Axel nodded.

“They’re talking that someday a new building will stand there.” Axel said. “To me, it won’t matter though. It will be a sign that we’re moving on, but will we really?” He sighed. “I better get going. My mom will wonder where I’m at. Can’t believe I walked all the way to Tribeca anyway.”

“Take care of yourself Axel.” (Y/n) said.

“Same to you (Y/n).” He turned and headed back the way he came. (Y/n) stood there for a little while longer, shivering some.

“Babe, what are you doing?” Jared asked, coming outside. (Y/n) looked up at him.

“Just thinking.” She said. “Come on, let’s go back and enjoy the party.” She took his hand and headed back in, the snow continuing to fall.


	10. Chapter 10

Los Angeles  
September 11, 2002

Jared didn’t even have to tell (Y/n) what day it was. She knew it, deep in her bones when she woke up. She had been staring at the calendar for the past month, dreading this day to come back. Getting out of New York had been a step in the right direction. While she was still dreading the day, while she could still feel it resting heavy on her heart, being able to look out and not see the destroyed skyline from her bedroom was a good thing.

Jared and Jensen had still worked on their show. Jensen had opened up a whole new career for himself with his short film that had premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. (Y/n) and Jared had kept their apartment in Tribeca just for when the film Festival was going on. But they lived in L.A. now. Jared’s siblings were using the apartment more than they were. Especially Jared, who was getting offers left and right. He had done some animation work, even doing an animated version of his own show.

(Y/n) pulled herself out of bed. Jared had wanted to stay home, but he had a few things to film for his show. He had promised to be home by the afternoon. (Y/n) wished she could’ve slept until he got home. Sammy popped his head up, sensing her frustration. He followed her around, making sure she was okay. He laid outside the bathroom door while she went. Sammy had never had formal training, but he was born to be a therapy dog. There was no doubt about it.

(Y/n) made her way downstairs towards the large TV they had. Her hand hovered over the remote. Did she really want to do that? Did she want to relive that day all over again? She took a deep breath and clicked on the TV. She set down on the couch, Sammy sitting next to her. Out of habit, Jared always turned the TV to a news station for the morning. And today was no different. He didn’t mean it in a malicious way. (Y/n) knew that. But part of her wished that he had tuned it to Cartoon Network or something with reruns. But the footage on TV was sort of a rerun.

Watching the coverage from behind a TV was a little strange. Watching something happen right in front of you was one thing, but being able to see all the angels all at once was something else. (Y/n) was glued to the TV, watching everything all over again.

She didn’t allow herself to sit there and watch it all day. She took Sammy for a long walk around the neighborhood, smiling at the neighbors she saw. It wasn’t the same as the apartment in Tribeca, but it was still nice. It was warm with a slight ocean breeze. It did her some good, and Sammy wagged his tail at seeing her smile. As they walked, they stumbled upon a group of people standing by a flag that was half raised. (Y/n)’s grip on Sammy’s leash tightened. She wasn’t in the mood to deal with conspirators today…

“Did you know anyone there?” An older woman asked. She had an American flag scarf on, and other various patriotic pieces. “At the World Trade Center or the Pentagon. Or I guess flight 93 too.”

‘Uh…yeah.” (Y/n) said. “World Trade Center.” (Y/n) recognized a couple of the people in the group. They were some of the friendly neighbors who had introduced themselves before (Y/n) and Jared even had the first box on the ground of their new place.

“Would you like to come sit with us?” The lady asked. “We’re sharing stories and enjoying each other’s company.” (Y/n) looked at the ground. They were mainly women with a sprinkling of men. Tissues were being passed around and hugs were being given.

“I don’t want to intrude…”

“Nonsense.” The gently led (Y/n) and Sammy over to the group. Sammy stayed right at (Y/n)’s feet as introductions were given. A woman that was about in late 30’s, possibly early 40’s, was wiping her eyes. Her name was Eliza.

“At this time last year, I was living in Hoboken, New Jersey.” She said, wiping at her eyes. “My husband worked for the Port Authority. They were the guys that take care of and run most of the ways in and out of New York. He was supposed to be off that day, but there was a missing little girl and they asked him if he could help patrol the bus terminals. Of course he said yes. Why wouldn’t he? We could use the extra money. So off he went with a bagged lunch.” Tears started to form in her eyes. “The next time I saw him was his beaten body in the morgue at a hospital after they pulled rubble off of him…”

“Oh god.” Some of the women gasped. (Y/n) wrapped an arm around Eliza. She remembered what it was like when she just thought that Jared had died that day. She couldn’t imagine how she would be if he actually did. She knew she wouldn’t be as strong as Eliza was. 

“Those two Port Authority cops they pulled out from the ground, I knew them. My kids used to have playdates with their kids. We had had cookouts with them, Christmas parties, everything. And while I want to hate them for getting to go home to their wives, I know that they deserve to be alive, even though…” Eliza trailed off. Hugs were given in the silence of the group.

“My daughter is over there right now.” Another woman named Harlow said. “She was in school at the Air Force academy in Colorado. She was in ROTC all throughout junior high and high school. She called me that day and told me that she would probably have to go to war when she got out. I knew she would have to serve for so many years after she got out. Now she’s over there and I get scared every time I hear about a car bomb or more soldiers killed…”

“I worked at the World Trade Center.” (Y/n) said before she even realized she had said it. Everyone went quite, waiting to hear her story. (Y/n) realized that this was a support group and maybe it was exactly what she needed.

“Were you there that day?” One of the couple men in the group asked.

“Almost.” (Y/n) said. “I lived in Tribeca with my husband. And the night before, he had to fly out here to meet with a studio about the TV show he works on. We went and had dinner at a restaurant in LaGuardia. A couple drinks later and a few kisses, I headed home and slept. I was so asleep that I didn’t notice that our damn old building had yet another power surge. My alarm reset but the radio turned back on. I didn’t wake up until the DJ yelled out the time. I rushed to get to work but was about to stop off to say hi to a firefighter I knew. He was out investigating a gas leak with his group or something. And right when I went over, there was this noise.” She looked up at the sky, almost as if she was reliving that day over again. “God, I’ll never forget that sound…”

Everyone set in silence, listening to (Y/n) tell her story. She felt Eliza wrap an arm around her when she mentioned that everyone except for her and five other people in her office had died in the attack. She talked about the long walk back to her apartment on a fractured ankle. She talked about finding Sammy and part of her had been convinced that it was her husband reincarnated.

It was after that little group talk that (Y/n) realized just how much she had needed.

****

Jared was home when (Y/n) got back. After eating together, they set down to watch some memorial things on TV. It had been (Y/n)’s idea, which surprised Jared a bit. But when she explained her day and how this group of people met about twice a month to talk about things like this, he understood why.

(Y/n) drifted off to sleep as Jared’s side with Sammy laying on the floor in front of them. Jared stared longingly at her as the woman on the TV talked about a filmmaker who had been at Ground Zero during the attacks and the footage he had. Jared wasn’t paying much attention to it.

“Were you in there?” The man asked someone.

“No, I work in the other one.” A familiar voice said, causing Jared to look up at the screen. His eyes widened as he saw his wife on the screen holding a little boy in her arms.

“I want my mommy!” The little boy, he assumed was Clark, cried. (Y/n) held him closer to her chest.

“His mommy works in that one.” (Y/n) said, trying to sooth the little boy. That’s when a loud noise drowned out anything else. Jared watched the camera tilt as the filmmaker and (Y/n) looked up. “No! Oh god no!” (Y/n) screamed as the camera followed a plane hitting her tower. Jared held her close. He turned away. He knew the rest. He couldn’t watch it anymore, knowing what his wife went through that day.

He just held her close, wishing he could stop that day from happening.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been so long since I've updated this fic. I have one more chapter planned and it'll be over! Thank you so much for reading guys.

Los Angeles  
August 6, 2006

“Baby, we’re going to be late!” Jared called up the stairs. (Y/n) was finishing up with the babysitter and kissed their kids on their heads before coming down to join her husband. “Katy is a good kid and she’s watched the kiddo’s before. I think they’ll be fine.”

“I know. I’m just overly paranoid.” (Y/n) said, lacing her hand with her husband’s. With Jared being a major star and Jensen being the hottest director in Hollywood, they were invited to many movie premiers. Sometimes Jared and Jensen would go alone, sometimes they would bring their wives. Jared was going to bypass this one altogether, but (Y/n) had insisted they go with Danneel and Jensen.

They were on their way to see Oliver Stone’s World Trade Center.

“We can still back out.” Jared said as he led (Y/n) down the front walk of their home towards the limo that was waiting out front. (Y/n) shook her head.

“It’ll be okay Jay. It’s just a movie.” She smiled up at him. Jensen and Danneel were waiting in the limo for them. Jensen had suggested Jared taking (Y/n) somewhere else for a date, but (Y/n) wasn’t having it.

They made their way to the theater, fighting their way through the flashing cameras and screaming fans. Jared and Jensen both signed some autographs while (Y/n) and Danneel chatted with some other guests. A few of the friends that they had made since moving to California were there and just looked at (Y/n) with sad expressions.

“You okay?” Danneel asked as they grabbed drinks before the screening. (Y/n) nodded before shaking her head.

“I shouldn’t have come.” She said softly. “The movie hasn’t even started yet and they’re all looking at me with pity.”

“It will be okay.” Danneel said, offering a smile. “We made it through the real thing, we’ll make it through this. You’re stronger than them anyway.” (Y/n) laughed some. Jared and Jensen joined them then.

“How are our girls?” Jensen asked, kissing Danneel’s cheek.

“Great.” She said, glancing over at (Y/n). She expected her to tell Jared this was a mistake, that she needed to go home before the movie started, but she didn’t. She kept her lips sealed and plastered a fake smile on her face. Jared was about to ask her if she wanted to back out when they called for everyone to take their seats. Jared held (Y/n)’s hand in his as the theater got dark.

The movie started out okay for (Y/n). Watching the Port Authority members going about their day. She thought back to the people in her little support group that she talked to from time to time. This had to be hard for her. Her breath did catch in her chest for a minute when she saw the skyline, undamaged. She didn’t even have to look over at Jared. He knew what was going through her head.

Then the shadow flew across the screen.

“No.” She whispered to herself. It was so quite compared to the noise in the theater that no one heard her, not even Jared. She squeezed his hand, thinking about watching that plane hit the towers, thinking about all the friends she lost that day. And seeing the towers with smoke pouring out of them…

“Oh god! No!”

She shook her head, staring up at the screen.

It’s a beautiful day…

A tear fell down her face.

Good morning New York! It’s a beautiful September day

She bolted then. She ran from the theater, leaving Jared, Danneel, and Jensen behind at the movie. She stood out in the lobby, taking deep breaths. Even after all these years, she couldn’t get over what she saw. She hadn’t even been in it but survivor’s guilt ate at her. A moment later, she felt a strong, yet comforting hand on her back.

“Babe?” Jared asked. (Y/n) looked up at him, tears in her eyes but she offered a smile.

“I’m sorry.” She said. Jared shook his head.

“No, it’s not your fault.” He said. He kissed the top of her head. “Want to talk about it?” They were the only ones out in the lobby minus a couple employees. (Y/n) sighed.

“I’m sorry that I just can’t get over it.” (Y/n) said.

“Sweetheart that was a traumatic experience.” Jared said, holding her close. “I’m not expecting you to be over it that quick. And you’ve made a lot of progress since it happened. I’m not leaving you.” She held his hand and glanced at the door. “What is it?”

“Do we have to go back in?” She asked. He smiled at her.

“Let’s sneak out the back and go get some frozen yogurt.” He offered. She smiled and stood up, sneaking out of the theater with him. They knew the best place in Hollywood to get some. They could easily walk there from the theater. Hand and hand.

Together.


	12. Chapter 12

New York City  
May 21st, 2017

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Danneel asked as she stood beside (Y/n), looking out over the city. Jensen and Jared were busy. Jared was producing while still acting some while Jensen focused mainly on directing, but would show up in his movies like Tarantino would. The girls had all day to explore a city they had once called home. They had went to the park, got some amazing pizza, and now they were here.

(Y/n) hadn’t gone to the opening ceremony, even though people she knew had begged her. She didn’t even want to go up now, but Danneel had begged her to. So here she was, standing in the last place she ever thought she would be. Floor 102 of the One World Trade Center.

“Yeah it is.” (Y/n) said with a smile. She was shaking a little, but her nerves had calmed a lot since they stepped off the elevator. She was amazed what they had done with this place. It had come a long way from two holes in the ground and a whole lot of fencing. It was strange how sleek the new tower was compared to the two boxes that stood here before.

(Y/n) had come a long way since 2001. They all had. They had families and amazing jobs. And as much as (Y/n) missed the rainy nights spent curled up in that apartment with Jared, she loved the warm sun and being less than an hour from Disneyland had it’s perks. The old building that her and Jared lived in had been updated. Most of the people that lived in the building with them were gone. James had died in 2013. The neighborhood was now the “cool” place to live, with Taylor Swift and Orlando Bloom. Even Beyoncé and Jay-Z had a place there. People had once told Jared that he was crazy for picking Tribeca to live. Now that’s where everyone was.

“I don’t miss that traffic.” Danneel said, pointing down to a slew of cabs. A sea of yellow on blacktop. “The 90’s were awful, riding in cabs everywhere. At least they have Uber now.” (Y/n) smiled some as she watched the world below.

“Before I moved here with Jared, I had never even been in a cab before.” (Y/n) explained. Danneel looked at her, surprised. “I used to have a driver’s license. But there was no parking in Tribeca and I only worked like ten minutes from our home. So I just walked and took cabs instead of paying for a parking garage or something.” Danneel laughed and turned her attention back to the window, looking out over the skyline, over Manhattan.

“Excuse me, ma’am.” A voice said behind (Y/n). She sighed some, figuring it was one of Jensen or Jared’s fans who had seen her and Danneel’s picture in a magazine or their brief stint as guest stars on one of their projects. She turned to see a man, taller than her, in a military uniform. “I don’t mean to bother you, but is your name (Y/n) Padalecki?”

“Yes…” She said, a little unsure. Danneel stood by her.

“You might not remember me ma’am, but my name is Clark. Clark King.” (Y/n)’s eyes widened.

“Clark.” She gasped. “You’ve grown up!” He laughed. “And you’re in the military?”

“Yes ma’am. United States Marines.” He smiled. “I just wanted to thank you for everything you did for my mother and me back in 2001.” 

“Oh Clark, you’re welcome but I didn’t do much.” She said softly. Clark shook his head.

“If it wouldn’t have been for you, I might not have found my mom that day. We might not have gotten away from Ground Zero as fast as we did. I might have gone back into her building to find her. Or any other possible situations. You saved my life and you saved my mother.” He held out his hand to shake hers, but instead, she hugged him.

“You’re welcome.” She said softly. He smiled at her.

“I have to go. I was on my way out and I saw you.” She nodded. “Thank you for everything again.” With that, he was gone. Danneel looked over at (Y/n), who was wiping at her eyes.

“Are you okay?” She asked. (Y/n) smiled at her and nodded.

“I’m fantastic.”

The End


End file.
